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Four ways to make the most of Term 4 with Maths Trek

It’s Term 4 and no doubt you’re either rushing to catch up on everything you couldn’t fit in earlier in the year, or you’ve finished your assessment and reporting and are looking for productive activities to wrap up the year.

For teachers still under the pump – don’t panic! Maths Trek’s yearly plans have been intentionally designed to allow extra time in Term 4 to finalise your assessment and reporting.

And for teachers looking for productive maths-based activities, check out these Maths Trek features to help you end the year on a high note!

Encourage real-world engagement with extra investigations

Investigations are a great end-of-year activity as they provide students with opportunities to apply their understanding of maths concepts learned throughout the year to unfamiliar, extended mathematical problems. And, as every extra investigation features a real-world context, they are sure to keep students engaged with maths right up to the last lesson of the year.

So whether you’re a Year 1 teacher who wants students to engage in a friendly competition with Win or lose, or a Year 4 teacher who wants students to expend their end-of-year energy outside with Lengthy leaps – there’s a range of investigations to choose from to suit your classroom.

Extra investigations are available in Years 1 to 6. You’ll find all the teaching and printable resources you need to conduct an extra investigation at Maths Trek Online.

Note: Some extra investigations have prerequisite topics that span several terms. As such, you may need to spend a little more time than usual discussing with students the maths concepts needed to complete the investigation. This will help you determine whether students are ready to dive into the investigation or need to refresh their knowledge of associated topics first.

Sharpen skills with differentiation tasks

Maths Trek’s differentiation tasks are a valuable tool to use when you want to revisit a topic taught earlier in the year. The tasks are designed to support or extend your students as required. For those who didn’t quite grasp the concept earlier in the year, you may choose to provide the Support tasks. For students with a good understanding of the concept who need an extra challenge, use the Extension tasks.

Differentiation tasks are only available on the teacher site. This ensures you determine the level that’s suitable for each student. You can find the differentiation tasks and their answers available to download in the Extras section of any topic at Maths Trek Online.

Note: As Foundation students are learning concepts for the first time, differentiation tasks in Foundation are either Consolidation or Extension.

Have fun with the interactive tools

By Term 4, you and your students will be familiar with Maths Trek’s four interactive tools – the hundreds chart, spinner, place value chart and clock – so why not have some fun with them?

These versatile tools, available both on the teacher site and student site, can be used any time for extra practice and for games – and the end of the year is no exception! From organising a classroom Number hunt to playing with addition in Greedy gulls, we’ve put together a few game ideas for you to check out.

Choose your own maths puzzles and games

Challenge your Years 3 to 6 students to apply their lateral thinking skills as they attempt the puzzles or games that most appeal to them from the six featured in the final pages of the Student Book. Students can choose to work independently or challenge an opponent in a multi-player game. And with names like Matchstick mayhem, Tetrominos and Water park colour code, students will find it hard to decide which one to tackle first!

Not yet using Maths Trek? Check out the Scope and Sequence and sign up for a free trial.